Stadium View is the largest of Zimmer Development Co.'s three student housing projects in Jonesboro.
When most people hear the words “university housing,” “luxury” isn’t the first adjective that typically comes to mind.
But as college enrollment rates continue to rise in the United States, universities are forced to be more competitive to attract students with amenities common to all-inclusive resorts.
One real estate developer, which recently unveiled three new housing projects in Jonesboro, is leading the pack in northeast Arkansas.
Zimmer Development Co. of Wilmington, North Carolina, started in 1989 as a commercial and multi-family housing developer. Since then, the firm and its affiliates have completed more than 245 projects in 130 cities and 18 states, developing more than 8 million SF of retail space and 5,800 multi-family bed units valued in excess of $1 billion.
Although most of Zimmer’s work is located along the eastern seaboard, company executives saw Jonesboro’s market potential because of high enrollment trends and the lack of housing options for students both on and off campus, according to the company’s in-house counsel, Emily Zimmer Moore.
In the 2016-17 academic year, Arkansas State University broke records for both enrollment — 14,000 students — and graduation rate — 4,500 students. The wait list for on-campus housing topped 500 students at the beginning of the fall semester.
“There was a definite need here for expanded, updated housing, and Zimmer has been great to work with,” said Rick Stripling, A-State’s vice chancellor for student affairs.
The two on-campus housing options, a 165-bed graduate complex named The Circle and a 350-bed undergraduate complex named Pack Place, will operate as a public-private partnership with the university.
The third and largest project, Stadium View, is located off campus across Johnson Avenue and can accommodate an additional 680 occupants. Each of the units, built over a 15-month period, are furnished and include en suite bathrooms, walk-in closets, granite countertops and in-unit laundry.
Stadium View’s amenities include a fitness studio, coffee bar, resort-style pool, outdoor kitchen, game room, tanning beds and computer lab. While floor plans at Stadium View vary from two to four bedrooms, all of Zimmer’s units are leased by the bed, ranging from $500 to $570 per person with an additional monthly fee of about $5 for utilities.
Those rates are on trend with average monthly rent prices in Jonesboro, at $567 for a one-bedroom in July. On-campus options are listed at slightly higher prices.
According to Stripling, the partnership for the on-campus complexes will operate as a 35-year land lease with Zimmer Development. While the development company is expected maintain the units, the university will manage and market the two on-campus projects. Zimmer will pay A-State $305,000 annually for the land lease for the first five years of operation. Agreement terms will then be renegotiated based on the consumer price index. The structures will become A-State property at the close of the lease.
“Zimmer Development Company now has a large presence in Arkansas, as we currently have three student housing projects in Jonesboro with over 1,200 beds in this market,” Moore said. “We are very proud to be a part of the Jonesboro community and we look forward to increasing our presence in Arkansas in the years to come.”
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